Delhi Police issues traffic advisory for tomorrow: Check timing, affected routes here
According to the advisory, Mahasamadhi Divas will be celebrated at Guruji Ka Ashram (Bade Mandir) on Bhati Mines Road, Mehrauli on Friday.
‘Matter of…’: India reacts to ‘All eyes on Rafah’, reaffirms support for Palestine
India reiterates its backing for Palestine statehood following Spain, Ireland, and Norway’s recognition moves, emphasizing a two-state solution.
‘Matter of…’: India reacts to ‘All eyes on Rafah’, reaffirms support for Palestinian statehood
India reiterates its backing for Palestine statehood following Spain, Ireland, and Norway’s recognition moves, emphasizing a two-state solution.
Speaker Johnson plans to invite Israel’s Netanyahu to meet with Congress sooner rather than later
House Speaker Mike Johnson is poised to extend a formal invitation to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address a joint meeting of Congress amid the country’s war with terrorist group Hamas. The Louisiana Republican is expected to send the invite sometime in the next eight weeks. If not in that time frame, the Israeli prime minister could be invited to speak after the August recess, in September, per a senior Johnson spokesperson. The timeline for the invitation was first reported by Punchbowl News. Johnson’s office said Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has agreed to the joint address by Netanyahu, despite his recent call for new elections in Israel during the war and pressure from the left flank of Democrats for him to oppose it. ANTISEMITISM AT YALE, UNIV. OF MICHIGAN TO FACE CONGRESSIONAL SCRUTINY When previously asked about the possibility, Schumer told reporters, “Look, I’m discussing that now with the Speaker of the House and as I’ve always said, our relationship with Israel is ironclad and transcends any one prime minister or president.” This comes as Democrats and the Biden administration itself continue to break with Israel publicly, with the White House most recently coming out against a bipartisan effort to sanction the International Criminal Court over warrants requested against Netanyahu and another Israeli official. “The United States said that they would, in fact, back the sanctions bill,” Netanyahu told host Morgan Ortagus on her Sirius XM show, which is set to air Sunday, as Politico first reported. “I thought that was still the American position because there was bipartisan consensus just a few days ago.” GOP SEN CALLS FOR CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION INTO TRUMP TRIAL JUDGE OVER GAG ORDERS The Israeli prime minister said, “frankly, I’m surprised and disappointed” in President Biden. The stance against bipartisan-supported sanctions on the ICC is the latest public break the administration has had with Israel. While the White House said it rejected the ICC’s decision and did not believe it had jurisdiction, “We don’t believe that sanctions against the ICC is the right approach here, no,” National Security Council Coordinator John Kirby said. BIDEN ADMIN QUESTIONED OVER ABORTION PILL PUSH WITHOUT PROPER ENVIRONMENTAL STUDY Israel has come under renewed scrutiny for its actions in Rafah, a southern city along the Gaza strip. The country has launched attacks targeting senior Hamas leaders in the area, resulting in significant civilian casualties. The move has drawn the elevated ire of activists and lawmakers who have already been critical of the country’s actions in Gaza. BIDEN WHITE HOUSE REJECTS ICC SANCTIONS PROPOSED BY LAWMAKERS AFTER ISRAEL WARRANT REQUESTS Biden had sent a clear message to Israel not to move forward with an offensive in Rafah, even claiming, “I made it clear that if they go into Rafah – they haven’t gone in Rafah yet – if they go into Rafah, I’m not supplying the weapons that have been used historically to deal with Rafah, to deal with the cities – that deal with that problem,” in a recent interview on CNN. But the administration has suggested the red line laid out by the president was not violated by Israel’s latest actions in Rafah. “As a result of this strike on Sunday, I have no policy changes to speak to,” Kirby told reporters after the strike. Neither the White House nor Schumer’s office immediately provided comment to Fox News Digital.
New poll reveals Biden losing support from this key demographic months from Election Day
A new national poll is the latest to suggest that President Biden is struggling for support with a key voting bloc in the Democratic Party’s base – younger voters. The president stands at 50% with former President Trump, Biden’s GOP challenger, at 48% among registered voters in a NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist National Poll released on Thursday. The margin narrows to one, with the incumbent at 50% and his Republican predecessor in the White House at 49%, among the narrower group of those likely to vote in the presidential election this autumn. And in a multi-candidate field, the survey indicates Trump edging Biden 44%-40%, with Democrat turned independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. at 8%, Green Party candidate Jill Stein at 3%, and independent Cornel West with 2%. HEAD HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS POLLING IN THE 2024 ELECTION One reason Biden’s locked in a close contest with Trump is a weakening of support for the president among younger voters, whom he won by more than 20 percentage points four years ago, according to the Fox News Voter Analysis and other networks exit polls. COULD VERDICT IN TRUMP CRIMINAL TRIAL UPEND PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION? Fast-forward nearly four years and the survey indicates Biden edging Trump by only four points among voters under 45 and just six points among those aged 18-29. “They don’t see a lot of connection to him,” Marist College Institute for Public Opinion director Lee Miringoff told NPR as he pointed to younger voters. “They’re worried about the cost of living, which isn’t reserved just for them, but clearly, as they envision moving into adulthood, cost of living, housing costs, how to get into that next step seems to be an obstacle.… They’re seeing the economy as a lot of other voters do – laying it on Biden’s doorstep at the moment.” The new survey is the latest to indicate rising support for Trump among the nation’s youngest voters. Biden led Trump 45%-37% among people ages 18 to 29 in a Harvard Youth Poll released last month by the Harvard Kennedy School Institute of Politics. Biden’s eight-point advantage over the former president was much smaller than his 23-point lead over Trump at the same point four years ago in the 2020 election cycle. The president’s lead over Trump widened to 50%-37% among registered voters under age 30, and to 56%-37% among those likely to cast a ballot in the November election. However, even Biden’s 19-point margin among likely voters under age 30 was much smaller than his 30-point lead over Trump four years ago. The Harvard University poll suggested Trump has made major gains among young male voters. “Democrats have lost significant ground with young men,” the poll’s release highlighted. The new survey by Marist for NPR and PBS NewsHour indicates that less than a quarter of younger voters approve of the job Biden’s doing as president. And while more than six in 10 hold an unfavorable opinion of the president, Trump has an above water 49%-42% favorable/unfavorable rating. But in an opening for Biden, only 54% of Generation Z and millennials questioned in the survey said they’ve definitely made up their minds regarding whom they’ll vote for in the presidential election. The Marist Poll for NPR and PBS NewsHour was conducted May 21-23, with 1,122 registered voters nationwide. The survey’s overall sampling error is plus or minus 3.7 percentage points. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
Supreme Court rules in favor of NRA in key First Amendment case
The Supreme Court on Thursday unanimously decided that the National Rifle Association (NRA) “plausibly alleged” that the New York State Department of Financial Services violated the group’s First Amendment rights by blacklisting the group. In a unanimous decision written by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the high court “holds that the NRA plausibly alleged that Vullo violated the First Amendment by coercing DFS-regulated entities to terminate their business relationships with the NRA in order to punish or suppress the NRA’s advocacy.” “The judgment of the U. S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit is vacated, and the case remanded for further proceedings consistent with this opinion,” the court said, allowing the NRA to continue to argue its case, overruling the second circuit’s dismissal of the suit. The case stems from a lawsuit filed by the NRA in 2018 which questioned whether a government regulator threatens regulated entities with adverse regulatory actions if they do business with a controversial speaker, allegedly because of the government’s own hostility to the speaker’s viewpoint, violates the First Amendment. BIDEN DOJ’S GUN LAW BLUEPRINT WILL IMPACT ABILITY TO DEFEND YOURSELF: GUN RIGHTS GROUPS “Six decades ago, this Court held that a government entity’s ‘threat of invoking legal sanctions and other means of coercion’ against a third party ‘to achieve the suppression’ of disfavored speech violates the First Amendment,” the opinion states. “Today, the Court reaffirms what it said then: Government officials cannot attempt to coerce private parties in order to punish or suppress views that the government disfavors,” it said. “Petitioner National Rifle Association (NRA) plausibly alleges that respondent Maria Vullo did just that.” The NRA sued then-New York State Department of Financial Services Superintendent Maria T. Vullo, who – at the order of former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo – allegedly blacklisted the NRA, effectively forcing banks and insurers to cut ties with the group. NRA PRAISES COURT ORDER STRIKING DOWN ‘DRACONIAN’ BLUE STATE’S HANDGUN LAW She sent “guidance letters” in 2018 to banks and insurance companies encouraging them to sever ties with the NRA and other pro-Second Amendment organizations, citing reputational risks. The guidance letters were issued shortly after the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, that killed 17 students and staff. The lawsuit alleged that Vullo made “backroom threats” against regulated firms, accompanied by offers of leniency on unrelated infractions if regulated entities would agree to blacklist the NRA. “As superintendent of the New York Department of Financial Services, Vullo allegedly pressured regulated entities to help her stifle the NRA’s pro-gun advocacy by threatening enforcement actions against those entities that refused to disassociate from the NRA and other gun-promotion advocacy groups,” the court’s Thursday opinion states. NRA SEES OUTPOURING OF SUPPORT IN SCOTUS CASE CHARGING BLUE STATE REGULATOR WITH ‘BLACKLISTING’ “Those allegations, if true, state a First Amendment claim.” The Supreme Court in November agreed to hear National Rifle Association of America v. Vullo, after a federal appeals court in 2022 dismissed the group’s lawsuit, arguing Vullo’s actions were reasonable. On Thursday, the high court said the Second Circuit is vacated, and the case remanded for further proceedings consistent with its opinion, meaning the gun rights group can continue to argue its case in lower courts. The NRA garnered support from unlikely allies in the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), a group that ideologically opposes the NRA but said it is “proud” to defend the gun group’s “right to speak.” “While the ACLU disagrees with the NRA’s advocacy, we are proud to defend its right to speak,” ACLU Legal Director David Cole, who argued the case for the NRA, said in a statement. “Public officials cannot be allowed to abuse their regulatory powers to blacklist an organization just because they oppose its political views. If New York is allowed to do this to the NRA, it will provide a playbook for other state officials to abuse their authority to target groups they don’t like,” he said. Fox News’ Shannon Bream and Bill Mears and Fox News Digital’s Emma Colton contributed to this report.
Spain passes bill granting amnesty to Catalan secessionists
Act of pardon draws a line under political turmoil set off by secessionist drive, but could face further legal hurdles. Spain’s parliament has greenlighted a bill granting amnesty to hundreds of Catalan secessionists involved in a botched breakaway bid seven years ago. The controversial bill, passed 177-172 on Thursday, will see courts annul the legal records of hundreds of officials and activists involved in crimes related to Catalonia‘s secessionists push from 2011, paving the way for a return of the movement’s exiled leader, Carles Puigdemont. The act of pardon draws a line under Spain’s worst political crisis in decades, which saw Catalan pro-independence leaders, who had won the 2015 regional election in Catalonia, hold a full referendum in 2017 that was declared illegal by Spain’s constitutional court. The bill, opposed by the conservative Popular Party (PP) and far-right Vox, has had a rocky ride through parliament. Initially approved by the lower house in March, it was vetoed in the upper house, where right-wing parties hold a majority, earlier this month. But the lower house pushed it through regardless. Even though it has now been passed, it is likely to face legal challenges. Earlier this week, a PP spokesman said that the party would do everything to “overturn” the law, whether through appeals to the Constitutional Court or “social pressure” on the street. The law must also be applied by courts on a case-by-case basis, with individual judges deciding whether the amnesty applies. They have two months to raise issues with the Constitutional Court or the European justice system which could delay its implementation for some time. ‘Forgiveness’ “Forgiveness is stronger than resentment,” said Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez after the bill was passed. Sanchez had put forward the amnesty proposal in exchange for support in parliament from Catalan secessionist parties enabling him to stay on as prime minister after an inconclusive election last year. The new law paves the way for the return of independence figurehead Puigdemont, leader of Together for Catalonia (JxCat), one of the parties that had backed Sanchez’s coalition government. Puigdemont led the 2017 secession drive before fleeing the country and going into self-exile in Belgium, where he has resided ever since while evading extradition. Other pro-independence leaders are also exiled. Spaniards are divided over the amnesty, the bill having caused large protests over the past few months. In a survey by the El Mundo newspaper in March, 62 percent of respondents across Spain rejected the amnesty, but in the Catalonia region alone most voters – 48 percent – supported it. Adblock test (Why?)
‘Appalling cull’: Britain’s Labour bars another left-winger from election
Critics accuse party of conducting a purge of left-wingers, as Faiza Shaheen deselected over social media posts. Britain’s Labour Party has barred prominent left-winger Faiza Shaheen as a candidate in the upcoming election after she allegedly liked social media posts that raised questions about her suitability to run, most notably one allegedly downplaying anti-Semitism. Shaheen told the BBC programme Newsnight on Wednesday that the party’s National Executive Committee had emailed her that evening to remove her as a candidate for the Chingford and Woodford Green seat in northeast London, having previously questioned her about 14 social media posts. The programme highlighted one post in particular, which referenced a Jon Stewart sketch on freedom of expression in the context of the Israel-Palestine conflict. Shaheen had liked the post, prompting the Jewish Labour Movement to complain its members were “concerned” about the “tone” of the Labour candidate’s social media posts in a quote read out on air. The offending post, published on X, read: “Every time you say something even mildly critical of Israel, you’re immediately assailed by scores of hysterical people who explain to you why you’re completely wrong, how you’re biased against Israel.” “Moreover, you can’t easily ignore them because those are not just random people. They tend to be friends or people who move in the same circles as you. Those people are mobilised by professional organisations,” it added. This is the dumbest thing The UK has done since electing Boris Johnson…what the actual fuck… https://t.co/n6Ekibi5is — Jon Stewart (@jonstewart) May 30, 2024 Shaheen responded that she could not remember liking the post. “I know what’s wrong with it, the line that’s there about the … you know … they’re ‘in professional organisations’. It plays into a trope, and I absolutely don’t agree with that and I’m sorry about that,” Shaheen said. The party, she said, had informed her of her deselection after briefing the press. Among the 14 social media posts, the party had also taken issue with content relating to her experiences of Islamophobia in the party. “Like, how am I not allowed to talk about my experiences of Islamophobia and the double standards that I’ve seen?” she said. The Labour Muslim Network said on X that Shaheen’s deselection was “unacceptable”. The deselection of @faizashaheen is unacceptable. To use her tweets accounting personal experiences of Islamophobia as evidence for deselection is utterly outrageous. Telling a Muslim woman she is not allowed to talk about her own experiences of racism is clear Islamophobia. pic.twitter.com/rz8OLV6gbx — Labour Muslim Network (@LabourMuslims) May 29, 2024 Labour’s election campaign has been overshadowed by internal chaos over selections for the July 4 election, causing observers to question whether the party is conducting a purge of left-wingers. On Wednesday, Lloyd Russell-Moyle, representing Brighton Kemptown, was suspended over what he claimed was “a vexatious and politically motivated complaint”. And doubts have been raised over the candidacy of Apsana Begum, who is supposed to be standing again for the Poplar and Limehouse constituency. Referencing Shaheen’s deselection, Labour’s Diane Abbott – Britain’s first Black female lawmaker – accused Keir Starmer of an “appalling” cull of left-wingers in a post on X on Wednesday. Appalling. Whose clever idea has it been to have a cull of left wingers? https://t.co/bDNrmACfRN — Diane Abbott MP (@HackneyAbbott) May 29, 2024 On Wednesday, Abbott had herself claimed Labour had not allowed her to defend her Hackney North and Stoke Newington seat in the election despite lifting a suspension that was enacted last year due to her comments on racism. The lawmaker had been reinstated as a Labour MP on Tuesday after the completion of a party investigation into comments she had made in a letter to The Observer newspaper, stating that Jewish, Irish and Traveller people “undoubtedly experience prejudice”, but do not face racism “all their lives”. However, Labour leader Keir Starmer later denied the claim, saying “no decision” had been taken to bar the left-winger, a close ally of Jeremy Corbyn who led the party from 2015 to 2020. Under Corbyn’s leadership, the party was investigated by the equalities watchdog, which found serious failings in the way the party had tackled anti-Semitism. Corbyn was replaced as party leader by Keir Starmer, who has sought to crack down on the claimed anti-Semitism. Corbyn is also barred from running as a Labour candidate after he said anti-Semitism in the party had been “dramatically overstated” for political reasons. Last week, he announced that he would run as an independent candidate. Adblock test (Why?)
Jury to begin second day of deliberations in Trump hush money trial
Jurors are expected to re-examine testimony from two witnesses and rehear judge’s instructions on how to interpret law. Jurors in New York are set to begin a second day of deliberations in Donald Trump’s hush money trial as the United States awaits a verdict against the former president and presumptive Republican 2024 nominee that could shake November’s election. The 12-person jury is in the spotlight after nearly two dozen witnesses testified in a New York City courtroom over the course of a more than six-week trial. The jurors – whose identities are being kept secret for their own protection amid nationwide political tensions – are working behind closed doors. The only clues to the direction they are taking come through requests for clarifications. They were due to start off on Thursday by re-examining testimony from two witnesses and also hear again the judge’s instructions on how to interpret the law. Trump is accused of falsifying business records related to a hush money payment made to adult film star Stormy Daniels in the lead-up to the 2016 presidential election, which Trump won. Daniels has alleged she had a sexual encounter with Trump, which he denies. Prosecutors have said the payment was unlawful and aimed to shield the ex-president from negative media coverage that could have derailed his bid for the White House. Trump has pleaded not guilty and said he is the victim of a politically motivated “witch-hunt”. On Thursday, jurors appeared to be taking a close look at the testimony of Trump’s former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen, the prosecution’s star witness. Cohen paid the $130,000 in hush money that ensured Daniels would not tell voters about her alleged 2006 sexual encounter with Trump. Cohen testified that he and Trump discussed a plan to reimburse him through monthly payments disguised as legal fees – the alleged conduct that spurred the criminal charges. Jurors have asked Judge Juan Merchan for a transcript of portions of Cohen’s testimony. They also asked Merchan for testimony from David Pecker, the former publisher of the National Enquirer tabloid, who had told jurors he worked with Trump to suppress stories that might have hurt the businessman-turned-politician’s campaign. Trump’s defence team has argued that the former president did nothing illegal, and his lawyers sought to paint the prosecution’s witnesses – particularly Cohen – as liars whose testimony cannot be trusted. All 12 jurors must agree on a verdict for the judge to accept it. If they are unable to do so, the trial will be a deadlock, and Merchan will declare a mistrial. Once jurors inform the court they have reached a verdict, Merchan will summon the parties to the courtroom. He must still affirm the verdict and enter a final judgement. Either side may also ask him to effectively overrule the jury. If Trump is found guilty, it will likely be weeks or months until he is eventually sentenced. While the charges carry a maximum of four years in prison, experts generally agree he is more likely to face a fine, probation or community service. Adblock test (Why?)
Trump says costly trial is ‘proving my point’ that courts are weaponized against him: ‘Disgrace’
Former President Trump said prosecutors in the costly and unprecedented NY v. Trump trial are “proving” his point that the legal system is weaponized against him. “‘This is becoming a three-card Monte game on: Where is the crime?’ Smart guy. Where’s the crime?” Trump said on Thursday outside the Manhattan courtroom, reading insight from Fox News contributor and legal scholar Jonathan Turley before reading excerpts from other experts. “Mike Davis: ‘The U.S. would sanction a country for doing this.’ I think that’s good. I think that’s good. Steve Hilton: ‘It seems that every single day these proceedings go on, the judge or the prosecutor just go out of their way to prove Trump’s point.’” Trump added after reading the excerpt, “…They are proving my point when you think. That’s why I write some of these things that are very sad.” Trump has continually slammed the case as a “sham” and that presiding Judge Juan Merchan is “corrupt” and “conflicted,” appearing to refer to the judge’s familial ties to the Democratic Party. Trump has also lambasted the case as “lawfare” promoted by the Biden administration to hurt his chances of succeeding in the 2024 presidential election. NY V. TRUMP: JURY TO CONTINUE DELIBERATIONS FOR 2ND DAY IN UNPRECEDENTED CASE Trump is back in court on Thursday as the jury continues deliberations regarding whether Trump is guilty of falsifying 34 business records. Prosecutors worked to prove that Trump falsified business records to conceal a $130,000 payment to former porn star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election to quiet her claims of an alleged affair with Trump in 2006. NY V. TRUMP: DEFENSE SAYS PROSECUTORS ‘DID NOT MEET THE BURDEN OF PROOF,’ FORMER PRESIDENT IS ‘INNOCENT’ Trump has pleaded not guilty to all counts and denied an affair with Daniels. Amid the trial, Trump has repeatedly noted that security surrounding the trial has prevented most people from coming within blocks of the courthouse, which he again cited Thursday while lamenting the trial is costing the city “millions.” TRUMP URGES JUDGE MERCHAN TO ‘SAVE HIS REPUTATION’ BY DISMISSING TRIAL “It’s a disgrace. The millions and millions of dollars that are spent daily on this case. Outside, it looks like it’s Fort Knox … I’ve never seen so many policemen. Now, with Columbia University, you can plant a tent right in front of the main door no problem. NYU, just put your tent, don’t worry about it … But I just want to say that this is a very sad day for America. The whole world is watching, and it’s a very sad day for New York,” he said. “It’s all rigged, the whole system is rigged.” “The outside world is watching, and the outside world is just not going to bring their business to New York. And that’s going to cost the city trillions and the state trillions and trillions of dollars. Businesses are leaving and people are fleeing,” Trump added before heading into the courtroom. NY V. TRUMP: PROSECUTION SAYS THEY HAVE PRESENTED ‘POWERFUL EVIDENCE’ AGAINST FORMER PRESIDENT Court kicked off at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, when Merchan again read his jury instructions after the jury sent two notes to the judge on Wednesday. In New York criminal cases, juries are not allowed to receive printed copies of jury instructions or witness transcripts. Trump is required to remain in the courtroom as the jury considers the case in the event they send a note to the judge. A verdict could be reached as soon as Thursday.